Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 16 October 2008
Treasury
11 Downing Street: Art Works
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what items from the Government Art Collection are located within his Ministerial residence in Downing Street. [222989]
Angela Eagle: I am arranging for a list of works of art to be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Bank Notes: Visually Impaired
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 8 October 2008, Official Report, column 800W, on bank notes: visually impaired, if he will introduce paper currency with marks identifiable by touch to assist visually impaired individuals. [227609]
Ian Pearson: The Bank of England is responsible for the design of its banknotes. It consults regularly with the Royal National Institute of Blind People regarding the design of its banknotes and is currently satisfied that the use of different dimensions for the four different denominations is the most effective way of assisting visually impaired individuals. The Bank of England has no plans to introduce new marks identifiable by touch.
Bank Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remove the negative control which has been placed on the assets of Landsbanki in the UK. [227454]
Ian Pearson: The Government have frozen the funds of Landsbanki to prevent actions being taken which would be to the detriment of the UK economy. We are working constructively with the Icelandic Government to ensure that UK depositors and creditors of Icelandic banks are not unfairly disadvantaged. The Treasury will keep the freezing order under review.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to take steps to protect commercial depositors in the event of a bank collapsing. [227627]
Ian Pearson: The Government has announced a number of measures to maintain financial stability, to protect savers and to rebuild confidence in the financial system. This action is designed to help businesses, individuals and the wider economy.
Bank Services: Charities
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether bodies that are (a) registered charities only, (b) both registered charities and also companies limited by guarantee and (c) unincorporated associations are included within the Government’s commitment to protect bank deposit holders up to the sum of £50,000. [227368]
Ian Pearson: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for making the rules of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), including the rule change which increased the compensation limit for bank deposits to £50,000, and the rules which determine whether a body is eligible to claim compensation under the scheme. The increased compensation limit applies in relation to claims by all eligible claimants. The rules on eligibility for FSCS compensation are set out in the FSA handbook which is available on the FSA website. Guidance on eligibility for FSCS compensation is available on the FSCS website.
Bank Services: Local Authorities
Mr. Cawsey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether deposits by (a) North Lincolnshire Council and (b) other local authorities in failed overseas banks will be fully protected by the Government. [226827]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 14 October 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement given by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears) on 14 October 2008, Official Report, columns 34-36WS.
Borders: Fraud
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many forged documents were confiscated at the UK’s borders by HM Revenue and Customs in 2007-08. [227216]
Mr. Timms: HMRC officers working within the UK Border Agency act to detect the importation of prohibited and restricted goods at the UK border. In the course of that activity, large numbers of forged documents are seized. These documents are referred to other agencies to investigate. The number of documents seized are not systematically retained.
Financial Services Authority: Pay
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many staff employed by the Financial Services Authority were paid over £100,000 including bonuses in the last year for which figures are available; [227665]
(2) what the pay scales (a) before and (b) after bonuses are of staff employed by the Financial Services Authority earning above £100,000; [227666]
(3) what the total remuneration package is of each of the directors of the Financial Services Authority; [227667]
(4) how many employees of the Financial Services Authority were paid bonuses in the last 12 months; [227668]
(5) how many (a) people and (b) full-time equivalent staff have been employed by the Financial Services Authority in each year since it was established. [227669]
Ian Pearson: These matters are the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day to day operations are independent from Government control and influence.
Money Supply
Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake an investigation of the effects of arrangements for control of the money supply which include creation of it by private financial institutions in the form of credit; and if he will make a statement. [226556]
Ian Pearson: Monetary policy in the United Kingdom is set by the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.
The Capital Requirements Directive implements the international Basel II agreement into EU legislation which stipulates how much of their own financial resources banks and investment firms must have in order to cover their risks. The Financial Services Authority is responsible for implementing the directive in the UK.
Select Committees: Government Responses
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to respond to the Report from the Treasury Select Committee on Banking Reform, HC 1008. [226871]
Ian Pearson: The Government expect to respond to the Treasury Committee’s report very shortly.
Welfare Tax Credits: Complaints
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints from customers over tax credits his Department has received in each (a) year and (b) month since tax credits were introduced, broken down by type of complaint; and if he will make a statement. [225738]
Mr. Timms: For information up to and including February 2008, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) on 1 May 2008, Official Report, column 634W.
Information for the period March 2008 to September 2008 is provided in the following table.
| 2008 | Number of complainants (approximate) |
Detailed information on the types of complaints, some of which often cover a range of subjects, is not available.
Transport
Bus Services: Finance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants have been given since 2003 from the Urban Bus Challenge Fund. [227111]
Paul Clark: Urban Bus Challenge competitions were held in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and a total of £53 million was awarded in those competitions. No new awards have been made under this scheme since 2003. Annual expenditure since 2003 on projects successful in the competitions has been as follows.
| £ million | |
Buses: Crimes of Violence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many attacks there were on bus drivers in each of the last five years. [225624]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold data on the numbers of attacks against bus drivers. However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are able to provide the following information:
| Attacks against bus and coach drivers | |
| Number of attacks | |
| Source: Data collected by HSE and local authorities under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 | |
For this period, no fatal injuries to bus drivers involving acts of violence were reported to HSE or local authorities (under RIDDOR).
It is important to note that incidents involving bus drivers will only be reported to HSE or local authorities if they come into the RIDDOR criteria of ‘fatal’ or ‘major’, or if the attack resulted in a period of sick absence of more than three days. There will of course be other instances of less serious violence or verbal attacks which are not recorded centrally. And in many cases, the bus driver concerned may choose to not report the incident to his or her employer.
Driving Tests: Buildings
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those purchases of land or buildings made by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies as a result of the rationalisation of driving test centres; and when these transactions were conducted. [224661]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driving Standards Agency has purchased the following land as a result of the multi-purpose test centre (MPTC) project.
| Location of land | Transaction conducted |
Emergency Services: Accidents
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2008, Official Report, column 473, on emergency services: accidents, how many of those accidents which occurred involving blue light vehicles from the (a) police force, (b) fire service and (c) ambulance service in each of the last five years that resulted in (i) deaths and (ii) serious injuries were on pedestrian crossings. [226564]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving vehicles from (a) the police force, (b) the fire service and (c) the ambulance service resulting in (i) deaths and (ii) serious injuries on pedestrian crossings in each Government office region in 2002 to 2007 are given in the tables.
| (a) Police | ||
| Number of fatal accidents | ||
| Government office | 2006 | 2007 |
| (a) Police | |||||
| Number of serious accidents | |||||
| Government office | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 |
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